Bottle cap

ABSTRACT

A bottle cap includes a cap seat and a cap. The cap seat has a receiving space confined by an inner tubular wall and a bottom wall. The cap is disposed within the inner tubular wall, and has a top panel and a tubular cutter body. The tubular cutter body has a beveled bottom open end that has a cutting end and a pushing end. When the top panel is pressed, the cutting end cuts the bottom wall, and the pushing end pushes a portion of the bottom wall so that the bottom wall moves away from the cutting end. Preferably, the bottom wall and the inner tubular wall are formed as one piece.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a cap, more particularly to a bottle cap.

2. Description of the Related Art

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional bottle cap 1 includes a capseat 11 that threadedly engages a mouth 22 of a bottle 2 and that has aninner tubular wall 112, a membrane 12 attached to a bottom end of theinner tubular wall 112 to cover a receiving space 15, a cap 13 that hasa top panel 131 and a tubular cutter body 132 extending downwardly fromthe top panel 131, and a sealing ring 14 that detachably interconnectsthe top panel 131 and the cap seat 11.

In use, the sealing ring 14 is pulled outwardly away from the top panel131 and the cap seat 11. Thereafter, referring to FIG. 3, when the toppanel 131 is pressed, the tubular cutter body 132 is moved downwardlyand penetrates the membrane 12 by virtue of a cutting end 134 of abeveled bottom open end 133 of the tubular cutter body 132. Referring toFIGS. 3 and 4, subsequently, the membrane 12 is cut by the bottom openend 133 and hence has a cut portion 121. An additive disposed in thereceiving space 15 can fall into the bottle 2 through a gap between thebottom open end 133 and the cut portion 121, thereby mixing the additiveand a substance disposed in the bottle 2.

However, when the membrane 12 is cut by the bottom open end 133, becausethe membrane 12 is made of aluminum foil and still has a connectionportion 123 that is not cut, the cut portion 121 tends to indent upwardand contact the bottom open end 133 due to residual internal stress ofthe membrane 12 so that the additive in the receiving space 15 (see FIG.2) is unable to easily fall into the bottle 2. Even if half of aperiphery of the membrane 12 is cut, the same phenomenon is observed. Ifthe periphery of the membrane 12 is entirely cut, the membrane 12 mayundesirably fall into the bottle 2.

In addition, the membrane 12 is attached to the cap seat 11 by anadditional adhesive bonding process, thereby increasing the productioncost and an incidence of contaminating the additive. When the membrane12 is not securely attached to the cap seat 11 or is deformed on accountof heat, leakage of the additive can result.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide a bottle cap that canovercome the aforesaid drawbacks of the prior art.

According to this invention, a bottle cap includes a cap seat and a cap.The cap seat has an inner tubular wall, a bottom wall closing a bottomend of the inner tubular wall and having a peripheral connection portionthat is connected to the bottom end of the inner tubular wall, and areceiving space confined by the inner tubular wall and the bottom wall.The cap is disposed within the inner tubular wall, and has a top panelproximate to a top end of the inner tubular wall and closing thereceiving space, and a tubular cutter body extending downwardly from aperipheral end of the top panel toward the bottom wall. The tubularcutter body has a beveled bottom open end slanting downwardly from ahigher part to a lower part. The bottom open end has a cutting endformed at the lower part, a pushing end formed at the higher part anddiametrically opposite to the cutting end, and two opposite valleysformed at the higher part and between the cutting end and the pushingend. The bottom open end slants upwardly from the cutting end to thevalleys and downwardly from the valleys to the pushing end. The cap ismovable downwardly from a non-cutting position to a cutting positionwhen the top panel is pressed. The pushing end pushes a part of theconnection portion of the bottom wall when the cap is in the cuttingposition.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent in the following detailed description of the preferredembodiment of this invention, with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a conventional bottle cap for a bottle;

FIG. 2 is a sectional elevational view of the conventional bottle cap;

FIG. 3 is the same view as FIG. 2 but with a membrane of the bottle capbeing cut;

FIG. 4 is a sectional plan view of the conventional bottle cap;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the preferred embodiment of abottle cap according to this invention;

FIG. 6 is an exploded sectional view of the preferred embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the preferred embodiment in an assembledstate;

FIG. 8 is the same view as FIG. 7 but with a tubular cutter body in acutting position;

FIG. 9 is a partly enlarged view of the preferred embodiment; and

FIG. 10 is a sectional plan view of the preferred embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 5, 6, and 7, the preferred embodiment of a bottle capaccording to the present invention is adapted to be mounted on a bottle3 for containing a substance (e.g., a potable drink, a medicinal liquid,a cleaning liquid, or water). The bottle 3 has a mouth 33 formed with anexternal screw thread 332. The bottle cap includes a cap seat 4 and acap 5.

The cap seat 4 threadedly engages the mouth 33 and has an inner tubularwall 43, a bottom wall 44 closing a bottom end of the inner tubular wall43 and having a peripheral connection portion 445 (see FIGS. 8 and 9)that is connected to the bottom end of the inner tubular wall 43, areceiving space 46 confined by the inner tubular wall 43 and the bottomwall 44, and an outer tubular wall 41. Preferably, the bottom wall 44,the inner tubular wall 43, and the outer tubular wall 41 are molded asone piece from a plastic material. The receiving space 46 is adapted tocontain an additive, such as probiotics, a microbe, a microbial spore,food, medicine, a cleaning agent, or a dietary supplement. The additivecan be in a form of powders, a liquid, or solid granules.

The inner tubular wall 43 has an upper tubular portion 45 that isproximate to a top end thereof, and that has an inner surface formedwith upper and lower annular grooves 451,452, and an outer surfaceformed with an outer annular groove 453. The upper and lower annulargrooves 451,452 are spaced apart from each other.

The outer tubular wall 41 surrounds and is spaced apart from the innertubular wall 43, and has an inwardly bending top end 42 that isconnected to the inner tubular wall 43 below the upper tubular portion45, and an internal surface that is formed with an internal screw thread412 for engaging the external screw thread 332 of the mouth 33. Theinner and outer tubular walls 43,41 confine a space therebetween, whichcan receive the mouth 33 of the bottle 3.

The bottom wall 44 is thick at a center thereof and is thinned graduallyfrom the center to a peripheral end thereof, which is adjacent to thebottom end of the inner tubular wall 43. The bottom wall 44 has asubstantially flat top face 441, and a downwardly protruding bottomsurface 442 that is opposite to the flat top face 441, that protrudesdownwardly and substantially conically at the center of the bottom wall44, that inclines upwardly and gradually from the center of the bottomwall 44 toward the peripheral end of the bottom wall 44, and thatthereafter extends substantially parallel to the flat top face 441 whenapproaching the peripheral end of the bottom wall 44. It should be notedthat the bottom wall 44 could have a uniform thickness in otherembodiments.

The cap 5 is disposed within the inner tubular wall 43, has a top panel51 that is proximate to the top end of the inner tubular wall 43, thatis received in the upper tubular portion 45, that closes the receivingspace 46, and that has an annular protrusion 511 engaging the upperannular groove 451 when the cap 5 is at a non-cutting position (see FIG.7), and engaging the lower annular groove 452 when the cap 5 is at acutting position (see FIG. 8). The cap 5 further has a tubular cutterbody 52 that extends downwardly from a peripheral end of the top panel51 toward the bottom wall 44, and is movable downwardly from thenon-cutting position (see FIG. 7) to the cutting position (see FIG. 8)when the top panel 51 is pressed. Preferably, the top panel 51 and thetubular cutter body 52 are molded as one piece from a plastic material.It is noted that the annular protrusion 511 can be formed on an outersurface of the tubular cutter body 52 in other embodiments.

The tubular cutter body 52 has a beveled bottom open end 521 that slantsdownwardly from a higher part to a lower part. The bottom open end 521has a cutting end 523 that is formed at the lower part, a pushing end525 that is formed at the higher part and that is diametrically oppositeto the cutting end 523, and two opposite valleys 524 that are formed atthe higher part and between the cutting end 523 and the pushing end 525.The bottom open end 521 slants upwardly from the cutting end 523 to thevalleys 524 and extends downwardly from the valleys 524 to the pushingend 525. A height of the pushing end 525 from a bottom most end of thecutting end 523 is substantially equal to a distance between thenon-cutting position and the cutting position. In this embodiment, theheight of the pushing end 525 from the bottommost end of the cutting end523 is substantially equal to a distance between the upper and lowerannular grooves 451,452. The cutting end 523 is more adjacent to thebottom wall 44 than the pushing end 525. Both of the cutting end 523 andthe pushing end 525 are more adjacent to the bottom wall 44 than thevalleys 524. A distance between the cutting end 523 and one of thevalleys 524 is longer than a distance between the pushing end 525 andone of the valleys 524.

The bottle cap further includes a tearable lid 6 that is disposedremovably around the upper tubular portion 45 and that covers the toppanel 51. The tearable lid 6 has a sealing ring 61 that extends aroundthe upper tubular portion 45, a puller 62 that is fixed to the sealingring 61 for being pulled by a user, a lid plate 63 that is disposedabove the top panel 51, and a plurality of spaced apart tearableconnectors 64 that interconnect the lid plate 63 and the sealing ring61. The sealing ring 61 has an inner surface that is formed with anannular ridge 612 for engaging the outer annular groove 453 of the uppertubular portion 45, and a bridge 613 that bridges a discontinuation inthe sealing ring 61. The puller 62 has a connection section 621 that isfixed to the sealing ring 61 adjacent to the bridge 613, and a freesection 622 that is not fixed to the sealing ring 61. The tearable lid 6serves to prevent a user from undesirably pressing the top panel 51,thereby avoiding an undesired movement of the cap 5.

An operation of the bottle cap is described as follows. Referring toFIG. 7, the cap 5 is at the non-cutting position, where the cutting end523 is proximate to the bottom wall 44. The puller 62 is pulledoutwardly so as to break the bridge 613 and disengage the annular ridge612 from the outer annular groove 453. Therefore, the sealing ring 61 ispulled away from the upper tubular portion 45 and the lid plate 63. As aresult, the tearable lid 6 is entirely removed from the upper tubularpotion 45, and the top panel 51 is accessible. Thereafter, referring toFIG. 8, when the top panel 51 is pressed, the annular protrusion 511 ismoved downwardly from the upper annular groove 451 until the sameengages the lower annular groove 452. Thus, the cap 5 is at the cuttingposition, where the cutting end 523 cuts the bottom wall 44. Downwarddisplacement of the tubular cutter body 52 is equal to the distancebetween the upper and lower annular grooves 451,452.

Referring to FIGS. 8, 9, and 10, when the cap 5 is moved downwardly tothe cutting position, the cutting end 523 first penetrates the bottomwall 44, and the bottom open end 521 then cuts a portion of theperiphery end of the bottom wall 44. A gap is formed between a cutportion 443 of the bottom wall 44 and the bottom open end 521.Meanwhile, the pushing end 525 pushes downwardly a part of theconnection portion 445 of the bottom wall 44. Thus, a portion of thebottom wall 44 inclines downwardly from the connection portion 445. Theadditive in the receiving space 46 is able to easily fall into thebottle 3, thereby mixing the additive and the substance in the bottle 3.In this embodiment, the substance is a low-nutrition drink, and theadditive is sporolactobacillus or other probiotics powders. Alactobacillus drink is formed by virtue of the combination of theadditive and the substance.

Some of the advantages of the bottle cap of this invention are asfollows:

1. Since the pushing end 525 pushes the bottom wall 44 downwardly afterthe bottom wall 44 is cut, the cut portion 443 can be moved away fromthe bottom open end 521 and can permit the additive to falltherethrough.

2. Since the bottom wall 44 and the inner tubular wall 43 are molded asone piece, no additional process is required to attach the bottom wall44 to the inner tubular wall 43, thereby lowering a production cost ofthe bottle cap of the present invention and preventing the additive fromcontamination. Moreover, the bottom wall 44 is securely connected to theinner tubular wall 43 even under heat or cold such that undesiredleakage of the additive is prohibited. The preservation of the substancein the bottle 3 is achieved as well.

While the present invention has been described in connection with whatis considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it isunderstood that this invention is not limited to the disclosedembodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included withinthe spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation and equivalentarrangements.

1. A bottle cap comprising: a cap seat having an inner tubular wall, abottom wall closing a bottom end of said inner tubular wall and having aperipheral connection portion that is connected to said bottom end ofsaid inner tubular wall, and a receiving space confined by said innertubular wall and said bottom wall; and a cap disposed within said innertubular wall, and having a top panel proximate to a top end of saidinner tubular wall and closing said receiving space, and a tubularcutter body extending downwardly from a peripheral end of said top paneltoward said bottom wall, said tubular cutter body having a beveledbottom open end slanting downwardly from a higher part to a lower part,said bottom open end having a cutting end formed at said lower part, apushing end formed at said higher part and diametrically opposite tosaid cutting end, and two opposite valleys formed at said higher partand between said cutting end and said pushing end, said bottom open endslanting upwardly from said cutting end to said valleys and extendingdownwardly from said valleys to said pushing end, said cap being movabledownwardly from a non-cutting position to a cutting position when saidtop panel is pressed, said pushing end pushing a part of said connectionportion of said bottom wall when said cap is in the cutting position. 2.The bottle cap as claimed in claim 1, wherein said bottom wall and saidinner tubular wall are molded as one piece.
 3. The bottle cap as claimedin claim 1, wherein a height of said pushing end from a bottommost endof said cutting end is substantially equal to a distance between thenon-cutting position and the cutting position.
 4. The bottle cap asclaimed in claim 3, wherein said inner tubular wall has an upper tubularportion that is proximate to said top end thereof, that receives saidtop panel, and that has an inner surface formed with upper and lowerannular grooves, said cap having an annular protrusion that engages saidupper annular groove when said cap is at the non-cutting position andthat engages said lower annular groove when said cap is at the cuttingposition, said height of said pushing end from said bottommost end ofsaid cutting end being substantially equal to a distance between saidupper and lower annular grooves.
 5. The bottle cap as claimed in claim1, wherein said bottom wall is thick at a center thereof and is thinnedgradually from said center to a peripheral end thereof, which isadjacent to said bottom end of said inner tubular wall.
 6. The bottlecap as claimed in claim 4, further comprising a tearable lid disposedremovably around said upper tubular portion and covering said top panel.7. The bottle cap as claimed in claim 6, wherein said upper tubularportion further has an outer surface formed with an outer annulargroove, said tearable lid having a sealing ring extending around saidupper tubular portion, a puller fixed to said sealing ring, a lid platedisposed above said top panel, and a plurality of spaced apart tearableconnectors interconnecting said lid plate and said sealing ring, saidsealing ring having an inner surface formed with an annular ridgeengaging said outer annular groove.
 8. A bottle cap comprising: a capseat having an inner tubular wall, a bottom wall closing and connectedto a bottom end of said inner tubular wall, and a receiving spaceconfined by said inner tubular wall and said bottom wall, said innertubular wall and said bottom wall being formed as one piece; and a capdisposed within said inner tubular wall, and having a top panelproximate to a top end of said inner tubular wall and closing saidreceiving space, and a tubular cutter body extending downwardly from aperipheral end of said top panel toward said bottom wall, said tubularcutter body having a beveled bottom open end slanting downwardly from ahigher part to a lower part, said bottom open end having a cutting endformed at said lower part.
 9. The bottle cap as claimed in claim 8,wherein said bottom wall is thick at a center thereof and is thinnedgradually from said center to a peripheral end thereof, which isconnected to said bottom end of said inner tubular wall.
 10. A bottlecap comprising: a cap seat having an inner tubular wall, a bottom wallclosing and connected to a bottom end of said inner tubular wall, areceiving space confined by said inner tubular wall and said bottomwall, and an outer tubular wall, said inner tubular wall and said bottomwall being formed as one piece, said inner tubular wall having an uppertubular portion that is proximate to a top end of said inner tubularwall, and that has an inner surface formed with upper and lower annulargrooves, and an outer surface formed with an outer annular groove, saidouter tubular wall surrounding and being spaced apart from said innertubular wall, and having an inwardly bending top end connected to saidinner tubular wall below said upper tubular portion; a cap disposedmovably within said inner tubular wall, and having a top panel receivedin said upper tubular portion and closing said receiving space, and atubular cutter body extending downwardly from a peripheral end of saidtop panel toward said bottom wall, said tubular cutter body having abeveled bottom open end slanting downwardly from a higher part to alower part, said bottom open end having a cutting end formed at saidlower part, said top panel engaging one of said upper and lower annulargrooves; and a tearable lid having a sealing ring extending around saidupper tubular portion above said inwardly bending top end of said outertubular wall, a puller fixed to said sealing ring, a lid plate disposedabove said top panel, and a plurality of spaced apart tearableconnectors interconnecting said lid plate and said sealing ring, saidsealing ring having an inner surface engaging said outer annular groove.